SxSW

Something was in the air this year at South by Southwest. A number of people I hung out with complained that the films weren’t as good as last year. I didn’t have that experience. As many times as I promise myself I’ll leave time for wildcard screenings (spontaneous choices), I always end up going with my planned selections. This year I reached about half the movies I intended to. That’s not terribly surprising considering I also do a lot of podcasting at SxSW and this year I also attended a few panels and ran one myself. More on that in a bit; first the films. One of my favorite films which had its world premiere was “Hunter Gatherer”, directed by Josh Locy and which stars Andre Royo, Bubbles on the HBO series The Wire. Royo, who won the Special Jury Award for his performance, is unforgettable as Ashley, a recently released ex-con who is ceaselessly hustling in his own benign way to make a few bucks. The movie opens with Ashley’s elderly and cantankerous Mom setting up a birthday party for him while he fruitlessly calls friends to invite them over. Even though he’s middle aged there’s something innocent, almost childish about him, despite his having served three years in the slammer (reasons which are never quite explained). What we do learn relatively quickly is that he harbors a deep love for the woman he was involved with before he went into prison and who has since moved on to another relationship. Ashley doesn’t stop hustling and when he meets Jeremy (George Sample III), another innocent, the two make unlikely friends. Read more →

With distribution and exhibition changing so quickly, indie filmmakers must begin re-thinking how to plan their theatrical run. How much longer are filmmakers working with limited marketing budgets supposed to retrofit their film in the old paradigm? Please join Adam Schartoff, host of the popular podcast Filmwax Radio, along with Founder & CEO of Alamo Drafthouse, Tim League, Founder & CEO of Gathr Films, Scott Glosserman, Film Fatales founder Leah Meyerhoff, and Matt Grady of Factory 25 for a progressive and proactive conversation on the future of the theatrical.